Steve Addazio said there was a valuable lesson to be gleaned from watching the Red Sox win a World Series title. While the Sox were feted Saturday with a rolling rally, Addazio’s Boston College football team embodied the mantra of “Boston Strong” in rallying from a 17-10 third-quarter deficit to score a 34-27 victory over Virginia Tech.

“I don’t know anything about baseball,’’ Addazio said. “I’ve watched more baseball since I’ve been here than in my whole life. I really enjoyed watching the Red Sox. Not because I know anything about baseball, because I don’t. But I watched a team that a year ago was completely transformed in 12 months.’’

And that was what resonated for Addazio, who in his first year at the Heights has waged a daily battle to transform BC from a team that went 2-10 (1-7 ACC) last year into a 4-4 (2-3 conference) squad following Saturday’s win, which snapped a five-game losing streak against Virginia Tech.

“What I saw was it looked to me like this team brought out the best in each other,’’ Addazio said of the Sox’ improbable worst-to-first journey. “They found chemistry. They were all for one and one for all. There wasn’t selfishness. They were hooked on doing something great for our city and they brought out the best in each other.’’

Addazio hopes his team follows that example in its stretch drive to bowl eligibility, the Eagles needing to win just two of their remaining four games.

“I talked to our team about bringing out the best in each other,’’ Addazio said. “That’s so important in the big picture. That’s what it’s all about. That’s what we drew from what the Red Sox were able to accomplish.’’

Quick on the draw

The Eagles gashed Virginia Tech’s fifth-ranked rush defense by rolling up 196 yards on the ground. While Andre Williams (33 carries, 166 yards, 2 TDs) accounted for the bulk of it,
Chase Rettig shocked everyone in the Alumni Stadium crowd of 30,129 when he ran 19 yards on a quarterback draw on third and 10.

“Chase Rettig led our team today,’’ Addazio said. “We had called a quarterback draw. We said, ‘The heck with it, you go get it’ and he got it. He outran the corner on it.

“His demeanor, his approach all week was one of a really determined guy. That was great to see.’’

Rettig followed up last week’s 57-yard passing effort against North Carolina with an 11-of-14 afternoon. He threw for 93 yards and a touchdown and also ran for 20 yards.

Helping hands

The Eagles forced four turnovers and the biggest was Kevin Pierre-Louis’s 33-yard interception return that broke a 20-20 tie with seven minutes left. It was Pierre-Louis’s first career pickoff. “I just kept telling myself, ‘You better not drop this,’ ” said Pierre-Louis, who finished with eight tackles. “Last year I had a chance to get an interception and I dropped one right through my hands. This time I made sure I caught it with my chest and the rest of my teammates did an amazing job blocking.’’ . . . Kasim Edebali, who also had eight tackles, recorded two of BC’s four sacks.
Steele Divitto had one and C.J. Jones and Marquis Little were each credited with a half-sack. “We just kept playing aggressive in the second half,’’ Edebali said . . . Virginia Tech kicker Cody Journell, who missed a pair of field goal attempts in a 13-10 loss to Duke last week, converted a 56-yard knuckleball to give the Hokies a 10-7 lead just before intermission. It was the longest of the season in the FBS and longest of Journell’s career by 8 yards. “I knew when it left his foot, it was good,’’ said BC senior kicker Nate Freese, who made both of his field goal attempts (25 and 43 yards) . . . Addazio’s only lament after the game was the number of injuries the Eagles suffered. “We took some hits out there,’’ Addazio said. BC lost defensive linemen Kaleb Ramsey (hamstring) and Jaryd Rudolph (head), defensive back Jones (right knee), and wide receiver Brian Miller (right knee) . . . Scouts from the Chick-fil-A (ACC vs. Southeastern Conference) and Florida Citrus (ACC vs. American Athletic Conference) bowls were present at Alumni Stadium.